Two of the British soldiers convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners have had their sentences reduced, the Ministry of Defence said today.

Lance Corporal Mark Cooley has had his two years' imprisonment cut to 18 months, following a review by the Army Reviewing Authority.

Fusilier Gary Bartlam's sentence has been reduced from 18 months' imprisonment to 12 months' detention at the military correctional training centre in Colchester.

An MoD spokesman said: "The right of petition for review of conviction and sentence is a right which anyone who goes to court martial has."

The decision was taken in May by a review board sitting in private on the advice of a Judge Advocate General. The spokesman would not comment on the reasons for the reduction in sentence.

Cooley, 25, from Newcastle, and Bartlam, 20, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, were initially sentenced in Germany earlier this year. The mistreatment of the civilian detainees took place at an aid facility known as Camp Bread Basket, near Basra, in May 2003.

Cooley was found guilty of two charges - disgraceful conduct of a cruel kind and prejudicing good order and military discipline.

Corporal Daniel Kenyon, 33, from Newcastle, was imprisoned for 18 months after he was convicted of three charges including failing to report the abuse and aiding and abetting another soldier, Darren Larkin of Oldham, in the assault of a prisoner. The board did not change Kenyon's sentence after his appeal.

In their defence, the soldiers claimed that the abuse stemmed from an unlawful mission which took place at the aid camp to capture and deter looters.